Zidane and Little Zizou: A close miss

French soccer legend Zidedine Zidane might have had a Parsi connection. Had things gone according to plan, the soccer star would have done a cameo in Sooni Taraporewala’s award winning film Little Zizou.

Jahan Battivala as Little Zizou and Zidedine Zidane

Sooni approached Zizou (as Zidane is popularly known) with a request to hear her script. Since Zidane was an integral part of the script, Sooni wanted Zidane to act in two shots. The shots, sources say, was a dream sequence when he meets the protagonist of the film, Xerxes, who idolises the football star.

“The plot of the movie interested Zidane so much that he initially said yes to the project. He then sought some time to work out the dates for Sooni,” says a source.

According to sources close to the crew of the film, Zidane did some homework about the Parsis in Mumbai while he attempted to work out dates. He couldn’t, unfortunately.
“He had an assignment that he couldn’t let go of and most probably it was something to do with his sponsors. But he did get back and granted Sooni full permission to use his footage and pictures. He also facilitated some footage and pictures of himself and wished Sooni ‘all the best for the lovely film’,” the source added.

Though Sooni chose to remain tight-lipped about her meeting with Zidane, she confirmed that she did approach the soccer star for a cameo. “We did approach his manager, but logistics couldn’t be worked out,” she says. “Zizou is an integral part of the film’s narrative. Our little Zizou (in the film) is a big fan of Zidane. We have an entire narrative that his idol would visit India and he is constantly seen in posters and on TV.”